


All of this Will Happen Again

by Vulcan_Princess



Series: Elysium [2]
Category: Battlestar Galactica, Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Afterlife, F/M, Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-09 05:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1970298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vulcan_Princess/pseuds/Vulcan_Princess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tom Zarek arrives in the afterlife and is given a second chance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 takes place concurrently with Chapter 2 of Five Reunions in the Elysium Fields.  
> Chapter 2 takes place sometime after Chapter 5 of Five Reunions in the Elysium Fields.

“Fire!”  
  
Tom Zarek felt the bullet pierce his chest and exit out his back. He looked down and saw the hole, regarding it with puzzlement. The walls of _Galactica_ faded away and he found himself lying in the grass next to a river bank.  
  
He sat up and took a deep breath, surprised that it didn’t hurt. He poked at his chest and found that there was no wound. He took off his shoes and walked barefoot in the grass, relishing in being outdoors for the first time since New Caprica.  
  
In the distance, he saw a priest. They walked toward each other, and as they got closer, Tom noticed that the priest was Elosha. “I guess I’m dead,” Tom said wryly.  
  
“Yes, you are,” Elosha confirmed.  
  
“So, what’s next? Do I get to meet the Lords of Kobol? Or do I have to wait until Laura Roslin dies of cancer and then face her judgment? Oh, wait, I’m dead because I already faced her judgment. Madame Airlock decided to let her attack dog Adama shoot me instead of flushing me into space, but still.”  
  
“How you spend your afterlife is up to you. You can either go to Tartarus, or you can be reborn and have a second chance,” Elosha said.  
  
Tom said, “What’s the catch?”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“Come on, there’s always a catch. If everyone got a do-over, there would be no Tartarus,” Tom said.  
  
“All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again. That is how our sacred scrolls begin. You will be permitted to go to a point in the future when all of this is happening again. Because you refused to betray your people on New Caprica, you will get a chance to atone for your wrongdoings and prove to the gods that you are worthy of Elysium. Beware of pride; that was your undoing this time,” Elosha said.  
  
“So you’re saying that there is going to be another Colonial government and another Tom Zarek fighting for the freedom of the oppressed Sagitarons?”  
  
“There won’t be another Tom Zarek. You’ll be going back as Apollo.”  
  
“The god?”  
  
“The viper pilot,” Elosha replied.  
  
Zarek laughed heartily. “You had me going there for a minute. Do you have a whole list of stories to taunt new arrivals with? Reincarnated as Lee Adama. That’s a good one!”  
  
“I am serious. You must choose now, or the choice will forever be lost to you,” Elosha said gravely.  
  
Tom thought for a moment.  Being neighbors with Sisyphus for all eternity didn’t sound too agreeable, so reincarnation had its appeal. Plus, it was well known that Lee Adama was considered one of the most desirable men in the fleet. Everyone knew that he had gotten Kara Thrace into his bed. And he saw the chemistry between Laura and her “Captain Apollo” during the time he helped them escape during the coup. Military advisor? Who did the two of them think they were fooling?  
  
In that moment, he decided to do it, if only for the chance to frak Laura Roslin.  
  
“It’s a deal. I’ll take the do-over,” Tom said.  
  
“Very well. You will not retain your memories from this lifetime but will regain them when you die again. Follow me,” Elosha said.

* * *

  
_“Push!” the doctor said._   
  
_An infant screamed. The doctor handed the baby to an exhausted looking woman and said, “Congratulations, Mrs. Adama. It’s a boy.”_   
  
_A nurse said, “What will you call him?”_   
  
_“Apollo.”_


	2. Chapter 2

Apollo faded in and out of consciousness on the hospital bed. He heard the beeping of the monitor, and suddenly, the monitor let out a loud whine.  
  
He found himself on a boat sailing toward shore. Memories of another lifetime started filling his senses. Growing up on Sagitaron. Oppression. Blowing up a government building. Prison. Freedom from prison.  
  
 _I, Tom Zarek, do now avow and affirm that I take the office of Vice President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol..._  
  
New Caprica. Cylons. Prison. Escape.  
  
 _I, Tom Zarek, do now avow and affirm that I take the office of President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol..._  
  
Laura Roslin. He never did get to frak her. Resignation.  
  
 _I, Tom Zarek, do now avow and affirm that I take the office of Vice President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol..._  
  
Betrayal. Murder. Execution.  
  
By the time he reached the shore, he was weeping. He saw Elosha waiting for him there. She walked toward him and gathered him in an embrace. “Tom,” she said gently.  
  
He sobbed on her shoulder. “What have I done?”  
  
“You have been redeemed. The Lords of Kobol are pleased with what you have done with your second chance. All is forgiven. Welcome to Elysium,” Elosha declared.  
  
For the first time in his existence, Tom Zarek was speechless. He walked with Elosha toward a town. When they arrived at a park, he saw a flash of red hair. Walking closer, he tentatively said, “Laura?”  
  
Laura Roslin turned around, and Tom saw a gently rounding belly that could only mean one thing. People can have children in Elysium.  
  
Surprise flashed for a moment in Laura’s eyes before her practiced politician mask fell into place. “Tom Zarek. I didn’t expect to see you here.”  
  
“Believe me, no one is as surprised as I am. The gods gave me a second chance. I reincarnated,” Tom said.  
  
“Who did you come back as? Cavil? Baltar? Hades himself?” she asked acerbically.  
  
“Captain Apollo.”  
  
“That isn’t funny,” Laura said.  
  
“It wasn’t meant to be. All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again. How long have you been here, anyway?” Tom asked.  
  
“A few years.”  
  
“That doesn’t make sense. I reincarnated over 150,000 years in the future.”  
  
“I guess time passes differently in Elysium,” Laura responded.  
  
“I suppose so.”  
  
“So, what’s my future self like?” Laura asked.  
  
“You weren’t there. I admit, I’m disappointed. I know how fond you were of your Captain Apollo, and I was looking forward to spending some quality time with you that didn’t involve us sniping at each other. I was even hoping that I could get more than a kiss on the cheek in front of a news camera on Cloud Nine. But it looks like someone beat me to it,” Tom said with a cheeky grin on his face as he gestured at Laura’s baby bump.  
  
Laura rolled her eyes.  
  
Tom changed to a more serious tone and said, “Look, Laura. I don’t expect you to believe me, and I don’t expect you to forgive me. But I want you to know that I deeply regret my actions toward you at the end. I was wrong to try to overthrow the government and take over _Galactica_. I know that now. I have renounced violence as a tool of change and I now commit to living out the rest of my days in peace.”  
  
“Fancy talk for someone who is dead,” Laura responded as she walked away.  
  
He saw a woman with stunning, long hair running toward him. She got closer, ran into his arms, and said, “Apollo!”  
  
Tom’s breath hitched as he said, “Serina.”  
  
“I’ve been waiting for you. We’re finally going to get our eternity together, just like we promised,” Serina said.  
  
“Serina, there’s something I have to tell you, and after I finish, you may not want to spend eternity with me,” Tom said.  
  
They walked over to a bench and sat down. Serina brushed a stray hair out of Tom’s face and kissed him. “Whatever it is, we can work through it. I love you, Apollo.”  
  
Tom took a deep breath and said, “Well, first, my name isn’t Apollo. It’s Tom Zarek. And I lived a life before the one I lived with you. You know that saying ‘all of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again’? It’s true.”  
  
Tom proceeded to confess every sin he had ever committed in his first life. He began with his terrorism and ended with the murder of the Quorum of Twelve. When he finished, he tentatively looked into Serina’s eyes, expecting to find revulsion or hatred. Instead, he saw acceptance.  
  
Serina said, “It’s clear to me that you have changed. You’re not the same person who did all of those terrible things. The man who blew up buildings and slaughtered his colleagues is dead. The man I married valiantly fought to protect humanity. The gods have forgiven you and welcomed you to Elysium. If they no longer hold you responsible, how can I?”  
  
“You mean it?” Tom asked with wonder.  
  
“Yes, I do. Tell me, how is Boxey?”  
  
“He grew up into a brave and honorable man. You would be proud,” Tom said.  
  
“How could he not, with you as a father,” Serina replied.  
  
“So, where do we go from here?” Tom asked.  
  
Serina took Tom’s hand, stood up, and led him along a path. “Home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I was unsure of what to do with Tom in this series. I felt that his wrongdoings were far greater than Gaeta's, so I knew he couldn't be so easily redeemed. I originally thought about leaving him unredeemed, but as bad as some of his actions were, I didn't really want to think of him as irredeemable.
> 
> I had also planned on doing a zany sort of crack-fic type story (unrelated to my Elysium series) with Tom running into the original series Apollo. But then I realized that if I played it straight instead, it could work as Tom's redemption in my Elysium series. So I ran with it.


End file.
